Stories from Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Multiple baseball programs from the southeast Missouri region remain state ranked in the final regular season rankings released May 12 by the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association. Defending state champion Oran is ranked third in Class 1. Bernie, which has won 15 straight games, is ranked sixth in Class 2. Valle Catholic is ranked first in Class 2, Chaffee is ranked second, East Carter County is ranked fourth, Portageville is ranked eighth and Greenville is ranked ninth...

Note: A photo gallery of the Dexter-DeSoto quarterfinal is available at this link: View Photos Here DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter varsity boys tennis team experienced little difficulty securing a victory in its district quarterfinal Tuesday afternoon. Fourth-seeded Dexter won all 12 sets of its district quarterfinal against fifth-seeded DeSoto as it secured a 6-0 victory. Doubles were not required because Dexter won at least five of six singles matches...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Public and private employers in Columbia would be barred from putting questions about job seekers' criminal backgrounds on applications under a proposal from a study group that says the questions mean automatic rejection for many ex-offenders...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to legislation barring people younger than 18 from buying electronic cigarettes. The House voted 127-19 on Monday to send the bill to Gov. Jay Nixon. It passed the Senate earlier this year...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri lawmakers are down to the final five days of their regular session. As usual, there are a variety of issues pending as legislators face a mandatory adjournment of 6 p.m. Friday. House and Senate negotiators are still hammering out the details on bills dealing with guns and schools. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Mississippi River is creeping up again, flooding some low-lying roads and agricultural land in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Flood watchers say it's all typical spring flooding, but with rain in the forecast, they're not taking anything for granted...

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's solar energy industry is rallying to resurrect a popular rebate program created by a 2008 renewable-energy ballot initiative that was curtailed when the state's largest utility said it had to cease participation to avoid rate increases capped by the voter-approved law...

ORRICK, Mo. -- Residents in a small northwest Missouri town that took a direct hit from an EF2 tornado were busy Sunday assessing damage and rescheduling events, such as next week's high school graduation. The tornado Saturday evening in Orrick yanked roofs off homes and other buildings and also ripped up trees and power lines. No injuries were reported amid the widespread damage. The town of about 800 residents is about 25 miles northeast of Kansas City...

ST. LOUIS -- Electric carmaker Tesla Motors is decrying a last-minute legislative move to prohibit direct car sales to Missouri consumers in a battle playing out in several states between the California company and traditional car dealers. Missouri lawmakers added new wording to a pending bill last week that would bar auto manufacturers from circumventing car dealerships and selling directly to buyers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The measure passed the Missouri Senate without debate...

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- Joplin police say a 34-year-old man died in a Joplin theater and his body was discovered the next day. Police say they don't suspect foul play in the death of Justin M. Roark of Seneca. Police say Roark apparently attended a movie at the movie theater complex Thursday night and may have suffered a medical problem without anyone noticing...

MILLSTADT, Ill. (AP) -- Authorities have identified a Missouri man who was shot and killed by a rural southwestern Illinois homeowner during a botched burglary. The Belleville News-Democrat (http://bit.ly/1jxXQm4 ) reports 62-year-old Lloyd Turner of Sikeston died during the break-in attempt last Thursday near Millstadt...

Autry Morlan Chevrolet in Dexter presented a $500 check to the Dexter Parks and Recreation Department Monday to help fund the Youth Baseball League this summer. The dealership also contributed equipment for the league. The amount contributed by Autry Morlan can be doubled through a promotion to the public. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission toured the Justice Center Monday morning as part of their regular meeting to look at needed repairs and maintenance. The commission had previously asked department heads in the Justice Center to submit a list repair needs...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Dexter's Ethan Stevens qualified for the Class 3 state golf tournament Monday afternoon with a fourth-place finish at the Class 3 state sectional at Quail Creek Golf Club in St. Louis, Mo. Stevens shot five-over-par 77 to finish tied for fourth place with Priory's Thomas Earle Weaver...

Adam Butch Banks , son of Harold Gordon Bright and Teresa Ann Weathers Bright of Poplar Bluff, was born on Aug. 5, 1982, in Elwood, Ind., and died on May 1, 2014, in Poplar Bluff at the age of 31. Mr. Banks had worked as a carpenter in construction and as a motorcycle mechanic. He was a resident of Poplar Bluff...

Emma Evelene Holland, daughter of the late William and Pearl Elizabeth Pruitt Hartline, was born near Dexter, Mo., on July 15, 1939, and died at her home in Sullivan, Mo., on May 10, 2014, at the age of 74. On June 11, 1955, she was married to A. Jean Holland near Dexter, Mo...

Kassey Lee Jones of Searcey, Ark., formerly of Puxico, Mo., was born on Feb. 12, 1995, and died on May 10, 2014. Arrangements under the direction of Watkins and Son Funeral Home in Puxico, Mo.

Karen Geane Watkins, daughter of the late Bill Bollinger and Barbara Sue Redman Davis was born on Oct. 9, 1950, in Dexter, Mo., and died on May 12, 2014, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo., at the age of 63. Mrs. Watkins was a homemaker, member of the Lighthouse Christian Center in Dexter, and a resident of Dexter...